A Macroinvertebrate Search

ALDERFLY
AQUATICWORMS
CADDISFLY
CRANEFLY
CRAYFISH
DAMSELFLY
DOBSONFLY
DRAGONFLY
LEECH
MAYFLY
MIDGE
MOSQUITOLARVA
MUSSEL
RIFFLEBEETLE
SALMONFLY
SIDESWIMMER
SNAIL
STONEFLY
WATERPENNY

Macroinvertebrates are a diverse group of animals, ranging from insects and crustaceans to molluscs and worms. They have been around for about 500 million years and some were even living in our waterways before the dinosaurs! Different aquatic macroinvertebrates have different tolerance levels to water pollution. Some water critters are sensitive to pollution, which means if the waterway was to become polluted they will die or move elsewhere. Other critters are tolerant to pollution, meaning they can survive in polluted water. By sampling a waterway for macroinvertebrates and identifying what’s there you will get a good indication of water quality and habitat condition. This word search contains the names of the different kinds of macroinvertebrate one might find in a typical freshwater stream. Good Luck!

Try to find all 19 words on this board.

S A L M O N F L Y O Q H V N I
Z R S M R O W C I T A U Q A X
C C R A N E F L Y I G D V O D
E L T E E B E L F F I R F Y A
D R A G O N F L Y Q A J L L M
Y U C A D D I S F L Y F D A S
O N T M C J T S O P N E Y G E
D W N V Y O M T B O R F C U L
X C Z E N D I T S F L R D Y F
S F X E P U N B L Y H C E E L
G M F G Q R O Y R J V P Q I Y
J L R S I D E S W I M M E R Q
Y S O Q S E M T H V L I A N S
O M I D G E C R A Y F I S H J
M U S S E L X Y M W V A M K X
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Answer Key for A Macroinvertebrate Search

X
Y
123456789101112131415
1S A L M O N F L Y # # # # # #
2# # S M R O W C I T A U Q A #
3# C R A N E F L Y # # # V # D
4E L T E E B E L F F I R # Y A
5D R A G O N F L Y # A # L L M
6Y # C A D D I S F L Y F D A S
7# N # # # # T # O # N E Y # E
8# # N # # O # T # O R F # # L
9# # # E N # I # S F L # # # F
10# # # E P U # B L Y H C E E L
11# # F # Q R O Y # # # # # # Y
12# L # S I D E S W I M M E R #
13Y # O # # # # T # # L I A N S
14# M I D G E C R A Y F I S H #
15M U S S E L # # # W # # # # #
Word X Y Direction
ALDERFLY  154sw
AQUATICWORMS  142w
CADDISFLY  36e
CRANEFLY  23e
CRAYFISH  714e
DAMSELFLY  153s
DOBSONFLY  612ne
DRAGONFLY  15e
LEECH  1510w
MAYFLY  155sw
MIDGE  214e
MOSQUITOLARVA  88ne
MUSSEL  115e
RIFFLEBEETLE  124w
SALMONFLY  11e
SIDESWIMMER  412e
SNAIL  1513w
STONEFLY  86sw
WATERPENNY  1015nw